Iran WAR threat: Iran shows off new nuclear-capable ballistic missile at revolution parade

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IRAN has unveiled a series of new homemade ballistic missiles capable of causing nuclear devastation - with experts suggesting the regime is copying North Korea’s World War 3 technology.By LEIGH BOOBYER

Express, Feb 13, 2018 - In a move which experts view as posturing amid dissidents’ efforts to stir protest, Iranian leaders flaunted the ballistic missile capabilities, which includes a nuclear-capable medium-range missile. According to experts, the missile appears to share similarities with North Korean technology. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered a speech during a ceremony to mark the 39th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, introducing the missiles at a military parade. The showcase comes after a heated encounter when Israeli forces shot down an Iranian drone which was launched from Syria. Israeli forces struck many Iranian targets in the region. The nuclear-capable missile could strike Israel even when fired from Iranian territory, raising concerns about an impending conflict between Tehran and the Jewish state that could further inflame the region. Iranian military leaders bragged the ballistic missile "can be launched from mobile platforms or silos in different positions and can escape missile defence shields due to their radar-evading capability," according to reports in Iran's state-controlled media. Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said: "Thirty-nine years in, the Islamic Revolution has little to show for its decades in power other than growing the country's asymmetric military capabilities in order to continue their export of the revolution. "The Islamic Republic has considerably grown the country's missile and rocket arsenal, both through production and procurement.” Speaking of one of the missiles showed off - The Ghadr 110 - Mr Ben Taleblu added: “The Ghadr can strike Israel when fired from Iranian territory, and in March 2016, was flight-tested while bearing genocidal slogans against the state of Israel.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech during a ceremony

Iranian military leaders also rolled out a rocked called the Fajr-5, which is becoming a new favourite of Iranian-backed terror proxy groups operating against Israel. Fajr 5 is another home-made missile produced by the Iranian military experts used against short-range targets. Mr Ben Taleblu said: "The Fajr-5 is an Iranian rocket that has been proliferated to anti-Israel groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. It can travel up to 75 km, and is therefore a long-range artillery rocket. It uses solid fuel for propulsion. “Both the Qadr missile and Fajr rocket represents Iran's commitment to developing stand-off weaponry that it uses for purposes of deterrence and coercion." The military also displayed the latest version of its short-range, anti-armour missiles, namely Toufan 2-M during the rallies. Qadr is a 2000km-range, liquid-fuel and ballistic missile which can reach territories as far as Israel. Iran put its Ghadr ballistic missile with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) on display in Tehran’s central Vali-ye Asr street. Iranian State television said “tens of millions of people” rallied to support the revolution across the country of 81 million, which faced its worst domestic crisis in nearly a decade in late December. For over a week, Iranians protested against official corruption, unemployment and a widening gap between rich and poor at anti-government rallies in 80 cities and towns across the region. Iranian authorities said 25 people died and over 3,000 people are arrested during the unrest. Most of those arrested have been released but 300 remain in jail facing charges, according to Iran’s interior ministry. Iran already has the region’s largest arsenal of ballistic missiles and is seeking to continue building this technology. The new weaponry could fuel ongoing efforts by the US Congress to crackdown on Iran’s continued proliferation of ballistic missile technology, a large part which has been supported by Kim Jong-un’s oppressive regime, which continues to have a technology-sharing agreement with Tehran. The administration of US President Donald Trump has said that any effort to fix the nuclear deal with Iran must focus on constricting the regime's access to ballistic missile technology.